Federal Unemployment Bonus (Cong. Rec., May 19, 2021)
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, House, dated May 19, 2021, at pages H2548 and H2549, carrying one-minute speeches and special orders. Ms. Underwood says the House dismissed an election contest in the 14th District of Illinois after the Committee on House Administration approved it with unanimous bipartisan support, and criticizes her opponent's claims of fraud. Mr. Fitzgerald says the $300-a-week unemployment bonus is keeping some people out of work until the fall and hopes the benefits are reduced soon. Mr. Bacon objects to the President's decision to set a date for withdrawing all U.S. military forces from Afghanistan, and Mr. Quigley discusses preventing the next pandemic by addressing wildlife markets.
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“Federal Unemployment Bonus (Cong. Rec., May 19, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-05-19-crec-2021-05-19-pt1-pgh2548-2-31354af4ef/
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H2548 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 19, 2021
special interests. We do it by letting I also want to thank the House Ad- If you remember back when the
the free market flourish through lower ministration Committee and its hard- CARES package was moving through
taxes, lower regulation, and more eco- working staff for faithfully carrying Congress, there were a number of legis-
nomic freedom. out the Federal Contested Elections lators who identified that an issue was
This model worked under President Act by rejecting this attempt at dis- being created that didn’t need to nec-
Trump, who delivered record lows in enfranchisement. essarily be created, and that was addi-
unemployment for Blacks, Hispanics, Unfortunately, the contest in my dis- tional dollars being set aside for those
Asians, and women, and it will work trict was just one battle in a war that who would find themselves unem-
again, if only the Biden administration is still ongoing, a war on democracy, ployed.
will put the American people first and on voting rights, and on truth itself. As a former State legislator in Wis-
not special interests. It will take more than a resolution to consin, I had kind of gone through a
f defeat the big lie: a seditious effort to process back in 2008 and 2009, which ba-
delegitimize the 2020 election and every sically was an unemployment insur-
ELECTION CONTEST DISMISSED ance fund—and I would underscore the
future election.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The As the so-called debate about wide- idea insurance—that was in the red. It
Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from spread fraud that did not occur raged was as a result of the number of unem-
Illinois (Ms. UNDERWOOD) for 5 minutes. on, I have been shocked and horrified ployment claims that were being made
Ms. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, by the willingness of so many people to in my State.
last week, we passed a resolution dis- tell dangerous, flat-out lies, people who There was a nonpartisan commission
missing the last House election contest should know better, including, terrify- that had been created to kind of over-
of the 2020 cycle, in the 14th District of ingly, elected officials at every level of see this process, without getting too
Illinois. government. far into the details. It had worked,
Before this resolution came to the I desperately hope for a future where where there had been some give and
floor, the Committee on House Admin- the fabric of reality itself is no longer take. Employers and those who rep-
istration approved it with unanimous under attack, because there can be no resented employers knew that there
bipartisan support. compromise here. There is nothing to would be X amount of dollars taken
I am incredibly honored that my compromise on. The choice is simple: out of everyone’s payroll that would
community chose me to represent truth or lies. supplement or pay for the premiums
them in Congress again, and I look for- In the meantime, Madam Speaker, associated with unemployment, and
ward to a productive term. let me tell you about the reality that the system worked. But when the up-
But I am not here to take a victory others have left far behind. The reality tick came as a result of the economy
lap. This is an important moment, not is that the American people chose sputtering at the time, it went into the
because of which candidate won, but Democrats to lead the House, the Sen- red.
because the constitutional rights of my ate, and the White House. In reality, It is just a reminder, I think, of what
constituents were upheld, despite my Americans voted for healthcare, for we find ourselves kind of in the midst
opponent’s efforts to disenfranchise the childcare, and for a safe climate and of right now. As I said, some earlier
very people he sought to represent. environment. speakers referenced this. We have this
Much like the previous President, my $300-a-week bonus that so many people
opponent ignored voters’ voices by de- b 1030 are calling it right now. And I get it; I
claring himself the winner days before In reality, Americans chose historic am not trying to be too judgmental on
the results were in. Once the votes had numbers of women, people of color, and people who actually find themselves in
been tallied, he again joined the former LGBTQ people to represent them in that position.
President in making baseless allega- this Chamber. But what we are hearing from em-
tions of fraud and conspiracy. There are people who refuse to face ployers is that, as a result of the new
After a careful consideration of the this reality, like my erstwhile oppo- dollars being in that unemployment
merits of his case, the committee nent, the former President, and far too system, it is doing two things. The
found that my opponent’s many argu- many others in positions of great re- first thing it is doing is obviously put-
ments about supposed irregularities sponsibility. Their denial of the truth ting the regular private-sector market
failed to add up to a credible claim to is incompatible with the democracy we that employers are typically used to,
the result he wanted. all swore an oath to defend. and it is forcing them to kind of either
Exhibiting the utmost disrespect for A few months ago, we endured a vio- increase wages to the point where it
his own would-be constituents, he even lent insurrection here in this building, doesn’t work for them. It just won’t
went so far as to attempt to invalidate an all-too-real manifestation of this work for their small business model.
thousands of ballots, under a techni- widespread assault on reality. We sur- They can’t afford it and still be able to
cality that the Illinois Supreme Court vived the attack, but we are still in the put out goods and services.
had already deemed invalid under both midst of an insidious erosion of norms The other thing it does, though, is it
the State and Federal Constitutions. and policies that threatens our democ- keeps people on unemployment. So
Specifically, the court warned that racy, including by sowing distrust of what we are experiencing in our
the standard my opponent sought to our elections and our democratic insti- State—and I think I am hearing that
apply in this case would allow corrupt tutions. other States are experiencing the same
officials to deliberately toss out ballots Madam Speaker, I urge my col- thing, and I think we are up to 19 dif-
of voters whom they had reason to be- leagues to join me in rejecting these ferent States right now—Governors
lieve voted otherwise than they de- attacks on our democracy by living as have made a decision to pull back on
sired, which is exactly what he at- though the truth were true. the $300 a week. It is certainly
tempted to do. f cratering these unemployment insur-
By passing the resolution dismissing ance pots again. They can’t keep up
this baseless contest, the House upheld FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT BONUS with it.
the results that were verified by seven The SPEAKER pro tempore. The So I am here today to just tell the
county clerks, including four Repub- Chair recognizes the gentleman from constituents of Wisconsin and, really,
licans, and certified by the State of Il- Wisconsin (Mr. FITZGERALD) for 5 min- nationwide, as we see State by State
linois. utes. and the economy kind of moves in one
On behalf of my constituents whose Mr. FITZGERALD. Madam Speaker, direction, that there has to be a
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voices were heard despite these efforts I rise today to talk briefly on a topic change. It is not even a partisan issue.
to silence them, I want to thank the that has come up numerous times al- Something has to give here in the
many election officials and volunteers ready this morning. I just attended a short term, and I would certainly hope
who safely and successfully adminis- meeting of the Small Business Com- that President Biden would take a
tered the highest-turnout election in mittee in which we had an extensive deeper look at this. I think the House
history, during a pandemic. discussion as well. and the Senate should actually move in
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2549
a direction where there would be some A vital lesson that we need to learn AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL
type of reduction in these benefits very from COVID is that we must fundamen- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The
soon. tally change the way that we interact Chair recognizes the gentleman from
I am very worried about this whole with wildlife globally if we want to Nebraska (Mr. BACON) for 5 minutes.
idea that there are a number of individ- stop this from happening again. This Mr. BACON. Madam Speaker, I agree
uals out there right now who, I think, means stopping deforestation and other with the comments of many of my col-
find themselves in a position where, habitat destruction, slowing and end- leagues on both sides of the aisle ex-
you know, they are going to wait. They ing global climate change, and global pressing grave concern over the Presi-
are just going to wait. They are going shutdown of live wildlife markets. dent’s decision to establish a date cer-
to wait for September to come, they tain for the withdrawal of all U.S. mili-
Already we have seen how changes in
are going to wait for October to come tary forces from Afghanistan. I believe
temperature and weather patterns and
before they really start to reengage. this decision is deeply misguided, and
The other thing in Wisconsin and encroaching human development have
brought people and wildlife into more it is damaging to the long-term na-
other States that exists, when you are
frequent and more intimate contact. tional security interests of the United
on unemployment insurance, you had
Human consumption of wildlife is sim- States and our allies.
to go out and look for a job. You know, The strawman argument of ending
you had to talk to employers and you ply the most dangerous form of that
contact. forever wars might be a convenient
had to develop your soft skills, which campaign slogan, but it is strategically
means, you know, making sure you are To get at the root of this problem,
naive and deeply offensive to those who
ready for work and you get to work on the Preventing Future Pandemics Act
have volunteered to fight to ensure
time. I am a little concerned that the would establish the official foreign pol-
that the very organization which at-
pandemic has had a direct effect on icy of the U.S. to be that we would
tacked us on September 11, 2001, is in-
that as well. work with other countries to shut
Madam Speaker, I just wanted to be capable of ever doing it again.
down these markets, end the trade in This is their job. It is a job that I did
here this morning to highlight these terrestrial wildlife for human con- on four deployments. It is our sworn
issues again. I would like to work with sumption, and build international coa- duty. It is their sworn duty. They are
the other side of the aisle and I would litions to reduce the demand for wild- proud to do it, and we honor them for
like to work with the President to life as food.
make sure that we can find a way of re- it.
The bill would authorize funding for The truth is our force levels in Af-
versing what I think is a path that is USAID to work on reducing demand for ghanistan are a fraction of what they
really going to jeopardize our entire consumption of wildlife from wildlife once were, and have been steadily de-
nationwide economy.
markets, and support shifts to alter- creasing for years. Maintaining a small
f nate sources of food and protein in residual force is not an unaffordable or
PREVENTING FUTURE PANDEMICS communities that rely upon this con- unsustainable burden. More than any
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The sumption for food security. other deployment in the world, the
Chair recognizes the gentleman from Moreover, to truly lead by example, U.S. and NATO presence in Afghani-
Illinois (Mr. QUIGLEY) for 5 minutes. this bill would end the import and ex- stan delivers tangible strategic bene-
Mr. QUIGLEY. Madam Speaker, I port of wildlife for human consumption fits to the U.S. at a relatively small
rise today to discuss what we must do in and out of the United States. and ever-decreasing cost, not to men-
to prevent the next pandemic and why tion the immense humanitarian benefit
While wildlife is not a major source
it is not only a global health issue, but to the people of Afghanistan itself, es-
of protein in our country, these mar-
also an environmental one. pecially the women and the girls.
kets do exist here, and they still pose a The recent violence committed by
The origins of the pandemic we are
danger. If we are to establish and main- the armed forces in Afghanistan only
battling now are clear: unsanitary, un-
tain a position of international leader- proves that the Taliban, al-Qaida, and
safe wildlife markets.
These markets, which are prevalent ship on this issue, we must practice ISIS-K clearly see this announcement
in some areas of Asia and Africa, but what we preach. as a full-fledged capitulation, and it re-
are present everywhere, including in This bill will help us take significant veals their true nature as
the United States, are fed by trade in steps to break down the silos between untrustworthy and savage.
wildlife; some of it legal; some of it il- global health and conservation, be- A military withdrawal must always
legal; all of it very dangerous. cause we know unequivocally that if be based on conditions, not a calendar.
They are breeding grounds for a we try to treat these as separate prob- By establishing a specific date, we are
strain of viruses known as zoonotics, lems, we fail to solve either problem. simply surrendering the hard-fought le-
which are diseases born from the un- After the economic and social devas- verage we have gained over two dec-
natural intermingling of the bodily tation of the past year, and the way ades, and we are inviting the Taliban
fluids of different species in an unsafe that COVID–19 has upended all of our to embark on a vicious reign of terror
and unsanitary market that sold wild- lives, it is my view that the Preventing against the Afghanistan people.
life, living and dead, for human con- Future Pandemics Act is a national se- Furthermore, as a military man, I
sumption. curity bill, a conservation bill, an ani- am utterly dismayed that we did not
Other zoonotics include SARS, mal wildlife bill, a small business bill, take the necessary steps to secure and
MERS, Zika, Ebola, swine flu, bird flu, a travel industry bill, a manufacturing prepare standoff basing in the region to
HIV/AIDS, and now COVID. COVID–19 bill, a retail bill, a mental health bill, project power when needed to conduct
has truly opened the world’s eyes to a housing bill, and a public transit bill. counterterrorism operations and to
the danger of these markets and the It is a bill to protect our lives and live- support the Afghan National Defense
global impact, and it should open our lihoods from the threat of human con- and Security Forces before announcing
eyes to just how urgent the need for sumption of wildlife and the associated the withdrawal.
legislation around this is in order to wildlife trade. We put the cart before the horse. We
prevent the loss of millions of lives. now have a moral obligation to ensure
That is why over the course of the I urge my colleagues on both sides of that the Afghan security forces can
last year I wrote the Preventing Fu- the aisle to rally around this in order continue functioning with the proper
ture Pandemics Act along with my to potentially save the world from suf- military and financial support to keep
friend, Mr. FRED UPTON, and Senators fering the consequences of inaction and the Taliban from once again plunging
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CORY BOOKER and JOHN CORNYN in the standing by hopelessly as we watch an- Afghanistan into darkness.
Senate. We may not agree on much, other pandemic ravage our world. Finally, and most urgently, we must
but we agree on this: We have the The next pandemic can be stopped, honor our promises and keep faith with
power to prevent the next pandemic, and the Preventing Future Pandemics our partners and allies. Our values
and to do nothing would be an act of Act is a vital first step. Let’s do it to- must remain the foundation of our for-
negligence. gether. eign policy. If our partners and allies
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